Folding carriage.



L. A. GRIFFITH.-

FOLDING CARRIAGE. APPLICATION TILED DEO.-28,1909.

Patented May'2, 1911.

TS-SHEET 1 L. A.,GRIFFITH.-

FOLDING CARRIAGE. APPLICATION FILED 1 120.28, 1909.

991,150. Patented May'z, 1911.

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L. A. GRIFFITH.

FOLDING GARRIAGE.

APPLICATION FILED D130. 28. 1909.

991,150. Patented May 2, 1911.

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Patented May 2, 1911.

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L. A. GRIFFITH;

FOLDING CARRIAGE. I APPLICATION FILED DEO.28,1909-. 991,150, Patented May'2,1911.

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LLEWELLYN A. GRIFFITH, OF BUFFALO, NEV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE ID. CAMPBELL AND ROBERT 1?. SMITH, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

FOLDING CARRIAGE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, LLEWELLYN A. GRIF- rrrI-I, a citizen of Canada, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Folding Carriages, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to folding baby carriage or go-cart and has for its object the production of a carriage of this character which is simple and durable in construction, which can be readily and easily folded and unfolded, which is very light and capable of being folded compactly, which is very rigid and capable of supporting a considerable weight when unfolded for use, and which can be adjusted so that the child may either sit up or lie down.

In the accompanying drawings consisting of 5 sheets :-Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved folding carriage, showing the back and foot rest in one position. Fig. 2

is a vertical longitudinal section thereof showing the back and foot rest in another position. Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the carriage. Fig. at is a top plan View of the same. Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view thereof. Fig. 6 is a front view showing the carriage folded. Fig. 7 is a side view thereof.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

'In its general organization my improved baby carriage comprises a seat, A, a back rest B arranged at the rear edge of the seat, a foot rest G arranged at the front edge of the seat, arm rests D arranged lengthwise on opposite sides of the seat, E the main handle for operating the carriage while in use, and four supporting wheels F two of which are arranged at the front and two at the rear of the carriage.

The handle comprises two upright bars 6 pivoted at their lower ends to opposite sides of the seat at the rear end thereof so as to swing vertically and lengthwise of the carriage, and a cross bar 6 connecting the upper ends of the upright bars.

The back rest is pivoted at its lower edge to opposite sides of the rear end of the seat so as to be capable of swinging vertically lengthwise of the carriage. The back rest may be adjusted so that it stands either upright, as shown in Fig. 1, for supporting the child in a sitting position, or that it in- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 28, 1909.

Patented May 2, 1911. Serial No. 535,272.

'clines rearwardly, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, for supporting the child in a lying position. The back rest is held in either of these positions by means of a holding device which is preferably constructed of wire in the form of two side bars G each of which has a downward reverse bend or hook g at its front end which is pivoted by a rivet h or otherwise at its bill to the intermediate part of the adjacent handle side bar, a cross bar 9 connecting the rear ends of the side bars G in rear of the back rest, and stops or pins A arranged at the side edges of the back rest below the side bars Gr. Upon swinging the holding bail downwardly while the back rest is in its upright position and until the lower end of this bail engages the lower end of the seat on its rear side the reverse bends g of the same engage with the stops hfl as shown in Fig. 1. While the parts are in this position the back rest is reliably held in place inasmuch as any rearward pressure against the same is resisted by the bail which is pressed at its lower end forwardly against the back whenever the stops of the back rest are pressed backwardly against the return bends of the bail, thereby holding the back rest reliably in its upright position. Upon raising the bail sufficient to permit the stops 71, to swing rearwardly out of the return bends g the back rest is free to swing rearwardly until the cross bar of the bail engages the rear side of the back rest, the downward movement of the bail at this time being arrested by the stops k thereby holding the backrest in an inclined position. as shown in Fig. 2.

Each of the arm rests is pivoted at its rear end to the outer side of one of the handle side bars and is pivot-ally connected at its front end with the front end of the seat by a link I. WVhen the carriage is unfolded the main handle and the links I both stand upright whereby the arm rests are raised in a horizontal position above the seat. Upon moving the main handle, links I and back rest forwardly into a position substantially parallel with the seat the arm rests are brought close to the seat and these parts are folded compactly, as shown in Fig. 7.

At its upper end the foot rest is pivoted on opposite sides by rivets j to the central parts of two vertically swinging links J which are pivoted at their upper ends on the front end of the seat while their lower ends are connected by a transverse stop or bar j which is arranged in rear of the foot rest. In rear of its pivots the foot rest 1s provided with rear-wardly projecting stops or lugs which are adapted to engage with the underside of the seat at the front end thereof.

lVhen it is desired to place the child in sitting position in the carriage the footrest is turned downwardly so that stops are disengaged from the seat and the upper part of the foot rest below its pivots y bears against the stop j of the links as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. \Vhen it is desired to hold the foot rest in a horizontal position so that the child may lie down, this is effected by swinging the foot rest up and engaging its stops is with the underside of the seat, as shown in Figs. 2 and 1-.

L, L represent the front and rear transverse axles of the carriage on opposite ends of each of which a pair of the supporting wheels is pivotally mounted. The front axle is pivotally connected with the seat by a pair of folding bars M each of which 15 pivoted at its lower end to one end of tho front axle while its upper end is pivoted to one side of the seat at the rear end thereof.

M represents a pair of forwardly inclined folding bars each of which is pivoted at its lower end to one end of the rear axle while its central part is pivotally connected by a rivet m or otherwise with the central part of the adjacent folding bar M.

N, N represent a pair of guide'bars which control the movement of the folding bars M and each of which is pivotally connected at its front and rear ends, respectively, with the upper end of one of the folding bars M and with one of the handle side bars while its intermediate part slides in a swivel or guide loop at which is pivoted on the adjacent side of the seat adjacent to the front end thereof.

In the unfolded position of the cart, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the two folding bars on each side of the carriage are substantially at right angles to each other and the guide bar is moved rearwardly in the guide loop 11-, so that it is arranged at a considerable angle relatively to the seat. Upon folding the main handle and the back forwardly over the seat the guide bars N slide forwardly through the loop n and the folding bars turn upon each other until these bars are substantially parallel with the seat and lie close together, as shown in Fig. 7,whereby the carriage is rendered compact for storage or transportation. While thus folding the seat, back rest, main handle, guide bars and folding bars, the foot rest projects forwardly from the'seat so that it lies parallel with the seat and back rest in the folded position of the parts and produces a compact arrangement.

For the purpose of stiffening the structure the corresponding folding bars on opposite sides of the carriage may be connected by braces, such as a connection 0 being shown between the folding bars 1 The carriage is held in its unfolded position by a retaining device which preferably consists of a longitudinal spring bar 0 secured at its rear end centrally to the rear axle and provided at its front end with a catch 0 which is adapted to engage with the front side of the front axle and prevent the axles from spreading while the carriage is in use.

The supporting wheels are mounted on the axles so that they may be shifted into an operative or unfolded position at right angles to the axles or into a folded or inoperative position parallel with the axles. The preferred means whereby each wheel is thus mounted on one end of an axle comprises a shifting rock lever P pivoted at its inner end to the underside of an axle by a vertical rivet 7) or other means, so that this lever is capable ofswinging horizontally. An elbow lever is pivoted by a horizontal longitudinal pivot q to the outer end of the shifting lever P and has an upper horizontally outward projecting arm 9 on which one of the supporting wheels is journaled and a lower vertical downwardly projecting arm 9 A shifting link R is arranged parallel with the axle and connected at its outer end by a horizontal pivot 1" with the lower arm 9' of the elbow lever while its inner end is connected by a vertical pivot r with a lug 9' arranged on the outer side of the adjacent part of the axle and forming a part thereof. Two diagonal shifting rods 8, s are provided which cross each other between the front and rear axles and each of which is pivotally connected at its front end with the central part of the shifting lever P on one end of the front axle while its rear end is pivotally connected with the central part of the shifting lever P on the opposite end of the rear axle. By means of this mechanism the movement of the axles to the position in which they approach each other most closely in unfolding the carriage causes the shifting rods 8 to turn the shifting levers P outwardly parallel with the axles and the shifting links R to turn the elbow levers so that the wheels stand upright and at right angles to the axles, as shown in Figs. 15. Upon moving the axles away from each other for folding the carriage the shifting rod 8 turns the shifting levers P inwardly at an angle to the axles and the links H turn the elbow levers so that the lower arms thereof are parallel with the axles and shift ing levers P, thereby causing the wheels to swing inwardly close to the underside of the seat and in aposition parallel thereto, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In the unfolded position of the shifting levers the same engage by stops 2? thereon with the inner sides of the axles, thereby stiffening the carriage while in use.

The folding and unfolding movements of the handle, back rest, seat, wheels and associated parts are effected in unison and with but one operation owing to the connection between these parts which compels them to move simultaneously, thereby permitting the operation of getting the carriage ready for use or for storage to be effected expeditiously and conveniently.

For convenience in carrying the carriage when the same is in its folded condition a supplemental handle a is provided which is preferably secured to the front axle. This handle together with the main handle E also permits readily operating the parts for folding or unfolding the carriage.

Upon unfolding the carriage the catch 0 engages automatically with the front axle this being permitted by providing the front end of this catch with a beveled face where by the same can trip over this axle. Before folding or collapsing the carriage the catch 0 is released by hand from the front axle to permit the axles to separate and the other parts be moved into their folded position.

I claim as my invention:

1. A folding carriage comprising a seat, a handle pivoted to the rear of said seat, a pair of front and rear axles arranged below the seat, wheels supported by said axles, a pair of folding bars each pivoted at its lower end to one end of the front axle and at its rear end to the rear end of the seat, another pair of folding bars each pivoted at its lower end to one end of the rear axle while its central part is pivotally connected with the central part of the adjacent folding bar of the first mentioned pair, a pair of guide bars each pivoted at its rear end to the adjacent side of said handle while its front end is pivotally connected with the upper end of the adjacent folding bar of the last mentioned pair, and a pair of swivels each arranged on one side of the seat and having a sliding connection with the adjacent guide bar.

2. A folding carriage comprising a seat, two axles arranged below the seat and movable toward and from each other, shifting levers pivoted on the opposite ends of each axle, elbow levers each pivoted on one of said shifting levers, and wheels mounted on said elbow levers.

3. A folding carriage comprising a seat,

two axles arranged below the seat and movable toward and from each other, shifting levers pivoted on the opposite ends of each axle, an elbow lever pivoted on each shifting lever and having an upper arm and a lower arm, wheels ournaled on the upper arms of the elbow levers, links pivotally connecting the lower arms of the elbow levers with the '1 Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

